Alabama vs. LSU Rematch: SEC Powers Will Prove BCS Got It Right

The 2012 BCS bowl season has been one of the most competitive ever, with two overtime games and a third that was decided by a single TD. That trend will continue on Monday night when Alabama gets a chance to avenge its own OT loss to undefeated No.1 LSU.

The BCS took all kinds of flak for giving Alabama a second chance instead of letting Oklahoma State—just .0086 points behind the Tide in the BCS standings—take a shot at the mighty Tigers defense. Nevertheless, ‘Bama belongs in the championship game and will prove it by giving fans another razor-thin margin—even if it’s not quite so exciting a game as the high-scoring bowls that preceded it.

OK State played well in beating Stanford in the Fiesta Bowl, but the Cardinal defense is a far cry from LSU’s. Like Oregon—another high-powered offense that lost, 40-27, to the Tigers—the Cowboys would’ve put up some points, but been unable to keep pace with LSU in a decisive loss.

Alabama, in contrast, is the only team that’s come within single digits of the Tigers this season because it has the only defense that can compete with LSU’s. With Trent Richardson to help control the clock and a superlative run defense to handle Michael Ford and company, the Tide will take things down to the wire again.

It’s entirely possible that Alabama will come away with the win, since it’s hard to imagine the Tide’s kicking game abandoning them again as it did in the first meeting between these two teams. In that case, of course, the discussion about whether they belonged in the title game will become largely moot.

Even if LSU completes an undefeated title run, though, ‘Bama will give them a closer contest than any other team in the country. By that standard alone, Alabama will prove that it was the right choice to play for the national championship.